Striking a conciliatory tone and talking about the need to reach out to the business community and unions, Democratic mayoral nominee Lovely Warren on Wednesday also provided a glimpse of her initial priorities if elected.

She was clear — after a primary won with just 8,515 votes out of 66,400 enrolled Democrats — that she will continue to campaign to the Nov. 5 general election, in which she will face Green Party candidate Alex White.

Even though she has served on City Council since 2007, she acknowledged a need to build relationships across a broader network. And she will be back walking door-to-door starting this Saturday in southwest Rochester.

"I take nothing for granted," she said. "I will continue to walk across the city. ... This race isn't over."

Since her primary victory last week over incumbent Mayor Thomas Richards, Warren said her days only have gotten busier. She said she spoke with Richards after he ended his re-election bid Tuesday, and she has met with Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle, who backed Richards during the primary and is chairman of the Monroe County Democrats.

"The first thing we talked about, I said, 'Don't even think about me asking you to leave,'" Warren said, referencing an offer Morelle made to former Mayor Robert Duffy after he beat the party's endorsed candidate in 2005. "At the end of the day, we are all Democrats."

Morelle did not return a phone call seeking comment. Richards' name still will be on the ballot, as he had secured the Working Families and Independence party lines.

Whoever is the next mayor should first focus on strengthening relationships with neighborhoods, Warren said, engaging residents on issues from public safety to development. She referred to "serious and stark challenges ahead."

"We have to work across the board ... (and) not just when it pertains to elections," she said when asked about the geographic and demographic divide that was evident in election returns. "I do not want to be divisive."

It's an approach that former Mayor William A. Johnson Jr. said Warren is wise to take: "She can't just be asking people, 'Will you vote for me in November?' But, 'Will you walk with me? Will you build with me, as we move on?'"

If elected, Warren said, she would renew a push to secure a downtown performing arts center (more of a multiplex, possibly to include a movie theater) and would return police substations to city neighborhoods, likely on a quadrant basis. The latter change involves labor issues, and Warren said she would ask Richards to address the matter in ongoing contract talks with the police union.

As for her interest in a Rochester Industrial Development Agency to ensure city residents work on city projects receiving tax breaks — a move Richards opposed as short-sighted — Warren said she would first sit down with the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency to see what could be accomplished within the existing system.

On development, Warren said: "I don't think there is any project currently I would shy away from, or say, 'No, we can't do that now.' ... I believe we also have to re-balance ourselves."

On neighborhoods: The city needs to evaluate whether zoning changes aimed at addressing the concentration of corner stores are working, she said. One concern is whether revisions inadvertently made it easier for liquor stores to open, as some neighbors claim. She would then tackle similar restrictions for car lots and repair shops.

On what a Warren administration might look like: "I'm not elected, yet, so I don't want to even discuss anything about who's in-who's out. It's presumptuous. It's not very productive."

She said she has not considered who might replace her as the northeast district representative on City Council — nor as council president, for that matter. Both are decisions that City Council will be left to make, if she becomes mayor.

Warren is quick to preface her remarks about the future by first referring to the election in November, despite the Democrats' 3:2 advantage in voter enrollment in the city. And she routinely addresses questions about uncertainties in her direction by referencing her time at City Hall.

"It's not like I'm on the outside looking in, and waiting to come in," she said. "I'm there right now, and willing to work."

Johnson got to know Warren through this campaign. She worked to defeat him in the 2011 special election that went to Richards. She has a "keen grasp" on the need to broaden her base, Johnson said, and to dispel misconceptions.

"Campaigning is one thing. Governing is something entirely different," he said.

In the weeks until Nov. 5, he hopes voters get the chance and take the time to learn about the candidates. Rochester saw a dismal 22 percent turnout for the primary. Buffalo, by comparison, saw about 20 percent; Syracuse saw 18 percent.

"She and Alex (White) are relatively unknown to the larger community. You know, a lot of people didn't vote the other day. A lot of people," Johnson said.

But Warren "is going to surprise a lot of people. She is not as provincial and narrow in her thinking as people would believe. ... People are going to be shocked at how mature, and how thoughtful she is. That is going to be a great thing for them to learn."